A former child star Rory Sykes, who was blind and had cerebral palsy, “died needlessly” in the Los Angeles wildfires, his heartbroken mother has revealed

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Image: Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

A former child star who was blind and had cerebral palsy “died needlessly” in the California wildfires, his mother has claimed.

According to Shelley Sykes, her son Rory was staying at the family’s home in Malibu which set ablaze- but when she tried to use water to douse the fire she discovered it had been turned off.

Shelley travelled to her local fire department after struggling to get through to the emergency services and move her son, Rory, from his self-contained cottage next to her property, while flames surrounded the area.

“He was my baby, and he died needlessly”, she told Australian TV newscast 10 News First. “Guess what didn’t work, 911. All the phone lines were down,” she said.

“He said ‘Mum, leave me’, and no mum can leave their kid, and I’ve got a broken arm. I couldn’t lift him. I couldn’t move him.”

Former child star Rory Sykes died in the LA fires as his heartbroken mum struggled to get help ( 
Image:
TV Grab)
The news programme said she drove 400 metres to her local fire station to ask for help which is when they told her they had “no water”, Ms Sykes claimed. “When the fire department brought me back, his cottage was burned to the ground”, she added.

Ms Sykes said her British-born son, who appeared on TV show Kiddy Kapers, died of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Las Virgenes Municipal Water denied her claims, according to US reports, saying the “water service did remain available and uninterrupted to her property and the entire surrounding community”.

After the tragedy, Shelley shared the news on her social media page writing, “It is with great sadness that I have to announce the death of my beautiful son @Rorysykes to the Malibu fires yesterday. I’m totally heartbroken. He was a British-born Australian living in America, a wonderful son, a gift born on mine and his grandma’s birthday 29 July 92.

“I couldn’t put out the cinders on his roof with a hose because the water was switched off. Even the 50 brave firefighters had no water all day,” she added.

Heartbroken mum Shelley Sykes said her son died ‘needlessly’ as she broke down over fatal LA fires ( 
Image:
Twitter/X/CollinRugg)

Rory’s mum said she was ‘totally heartbroken’ ( 
Image:
@shelleysykes/X)

Australia’s foreign minister, Penny Wong, said the government’s “thoughts are with the family of Rory Sykes at this tragic time”.

The wildfires have ripped through over 30,000 acres of Los Angeles County in just a few days, with the death toll rising to 16. The LA wildfires are poised to become one of the most severe natural disasters in US history, with estimated losses already surpassing $135 billion.

Jason Oppenheim, star of US reality programme Selling Sunset, said landlords are taking advantage of people being displaced due to the fires which began on Tuesday, just north of central LA, and have burned more than 12,000 structures. Since offering to represent those who have lost their homes for free, the reality star said the Oppenheim Group agents have “received dozens and dozens of calls from people who have lost their homes in the fires”.

“It’s all hands on deck right now, but it’s really difficult because there are thousands of people who are displaced without places to stay”, he told BBC One programme Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg. “The hotels are overwhelmed all the way down to Newport Beach and even into San Diego you can’t get a hotel room right now. And even, unfortunately, and this is something that I want to discuss, because I think it should be exposed, but we’re having landlords taking advantage of the situation.”

“I had a client we sent him to a house that was asking 13,000 dollars (£10,600) a month he offered 20,000 dollars (£16,400) a month, and he offered to pay six months up front. And the landlord said, “No, I want 23,000 dollars (18,800) a month’. You know, there are price-gouging laws in California that are just being ignored right now.

“And this isn’t the time to be taking advantage of situations, and it’s also illegal to take advantage of a natural disaster.”

The death toll from the wildfires rose to 16 as crews battled to cut off the spreading blazes before potentially strong winds return that could push the flames toward some of the city’s most famous landmarks.

EastEnders actress Patsy Palmer and Star Wars actor Mark Hamill were among the celebrities who described the miracle of their house surviving the wind-driven fires ravaging California.

It comes after US reality star Paris Hilton launched an emergency fund to support families who have been displaced, kickstarting it with a personal donation of 100,000 dollars (£82,000) after she watched her Malibu home “burn to the ground on live TV”.